Untitled
by conspicuously-empty
Summary: Prompted by Skimmons Week 2014 Day 3: AU Skye meets Simmons under impossible circumstances
1. Meet Again

"Hello Skye!" a chipper voice sounded from behind her. Skye turned and jumped. In front of her, wearing a cardigan and a bright smile, stood Jemma Simmons. "How..Why?" Skye took a step back and shook her head. Clearly this must be a mistake. Where was she? She had been somewhere else just a second ago. Skye didn't know where, but she felt like she had arrived somewhere strange. Jemma took a step toward Skye but stopped herself before she could hug her, like she wanted to. "I am so excited to see you. Well. I am sorry about the circumstances, but glad to be able to properly talk to you. Finally."

Skye stared at her, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Seeing Jemma was impossible.

"_The electric charge had built inside of her and burst out before her body hit the water. She would not have felt the impact. We also strongly believe that the drop in altitude rendered her unconscious before the emission. This means she very likely did not experience the pulse." The team was gathered around the medical examiner. Skye had never thought about S.H.I.E.L.D needing a pathologist. An organization of this size and with all these missions of course not only needed doctors for the living but also the dead. Dead – like Jemma. Coulson's question brought her out of her thoughts."So, you're telling us that she did not suffer?" At that Fitz squeaked, "Of course she didn't suffer. Except that she was terrified! Terrified that she had to die!" He had started with a whisper and ended on a scream. He ran from room before anyone could react. Skye didn't want to be in the room either. The doctor's office felt crammed. Coulson, May, Ward, and the doctor, they were so big; they were everywhere. Trying not to hyperventilate Skye followed Fitz outside. She turned a corner and there he was, sitting against a wall. He looked small. Tears ran down his face and his eyes were unfocused. She couldn't even try to grasp the magnitude and gravity of his feelings. Skye herself felt nothing but a strange mixture of pain and numbness. Jemma would tell her that was impossible - drawing out the 'o' for emphasis. Jemma. Jemma who was dead. Skye sat next to Fitz making sure not to touch him. They remained silent._

"You know the Alien virus killed you, right?" Jemma nodded. Skye narrowed her eyes at her. "You are way too cool with this." Jemma smiled with some understanding, "Need I remind you, that I have been dead for quite a while and, therefore, had enough time to come to terms with my situation?" Skye's eyebrows shot up and her lips building a thin line. She took a closer look at Jemma and decided to accept Jemma's attitude at face value. She looked around "Where are we?" Jemma shrugged, "I have no idea." Her smile faltered and turned into a frown. "I mean, I have no reference point and nobody to ask. All I can do is hypothesize. I am still in the process of verification. Many of my theories turn out false which can be quite frustrating." This place and Jemma's ramblings were mind-boggling to Skye. "If we don't know where we are how are we supposed to leave?" Jemma tilted her head. "Oh we can't. I already tried. We are dead. We can move around in this place but not leave it." A cold panic rose in Skye's body. "What do you mean? We are not dead! Wait. You died. I didn't die." Jemma sent Skye an apologetic look just to break eye contact right away. She didn't know how to handle this situation...


	2. Matrix

Skye bent over her palms pressed against her knees. She took three short breaths and exhaled slowly. There had to be an explanation for this and a solution as well. Not wanting to freak out any more than she already was she focused on what Jemma had said earlier. "You said we could move around. How?" Jemma went into explanation mode, "Well, if you concentrate really hard and focus on a person or place you want to go to then – sometimes – you end up there. It doesn't always work and usually takes quite some time."

Skye blinked and all of a sudden the two of them stood behind Coulson and May. Jemma flinched and shrieked, "What happened?" Skye's eyes were as big as saucers, "You said I should focus on whom I want to see. I guess it worked." She looked around the familiar surroundings and relaxed visibly. Then she stepped toward Coulson to touch him and get his attention. It didn't work. Her hand did not touch Coulson or go through him. It tingled and seemed to stop existing for a moment. Jemma put her hand on Skye's shoulder. "This is something I ascertained very soon after arriving here. We cannot touch them." The way she enunciated 'them' made Skye realize that Jemma had been here in this nowhereland for a long time. "We cannot interact in other ways either. If I go over there" Jemma pointed to a stack of paper, "and topple it over it falls but they don't react. I think to them it stays the same. I wish I had more knowledge about quantum physics." Jemma turned back to Skye and found her staring intently at Coulson. "I don't like that I can only hear whispers when they clearly speak with their normal voice." Jemma looked surprised, "You can hear them?" Skye leaned closer to May. "Sure, they are talking about Ian Quinn. We tried to find him the other day." Jemma joined Skye and they both listened in on Coulson's and May's conversation. In an angry voice Coulson mused, "Why were there no clues where Quinn could have headed. We took the entire mansion apart." May's jaw muscles tensed before she replied, "He either knew S.H.I.E.L.D was coming as soon as they heard we were on the train" she paused, her eyes following Coulson wearing out the carpet in his office, "or he did not spend enough time there. Either way there is not much to go on. And I don't like it." Skye looked at Jemma eyebrows raised, "I never heard her talk this much." Jemma nodded but turned away contemplation coloring her face.

Skye soon got exhausted from straining her ears. Coulson and May seemed to talk in circles and the agitation they exuded did not help the queasiness that was taking up residence in her stomach. She wanted to be alone for a while. Hesitant to use the blinking trick, which didn't feel right, she preferred walking out the door like any regular human. Leaving Jemma behind Skye went to her bunk. Seeing her laptop bag gave her chills. She stared at it. Should she try and touch it? Would her hand disappear again? She reached out. "Are you okay?" Jemma appeared in the entrance to her sleeping quarters. Startled Skye dismissed Jemma's worries, "Yeah sure." Holding her palms up Jemma insisted, "Well, you left without saying anything and I thought you might want to talk some more." Skye shrugged her but followed Jemma outside. They sat down on the couch in the common room. They remained quiet. Jemma mulled over in her head what she could or should tell Skye. Skye just focused on breathing.

After a while she turned to Jemma, "Have you met others who are... here?" She couldn't say 'dead'. She didn't want to. But she had to ask. Her inquisitive mind had taken over, fought off some of the strange feelings, and started to run a mile a minute. Jemma shook her head. Sadness and loneliness emanated from her in waves. Skye touched Jemma's wrist and softened her voice, "Now I am here to help and find a way out." More cheerily she added, "We have this cool Matrix move going for us so we should be able to explore." Jemma stifled the urge to tell Skye that she had done some extensive exploring ever since she arrived here. Jemma's face lit up. "Finally!" She exclaimed and when Skye looked at her with a frown and confusion, she elaborated. "Ever since I figured out this means of transportation I tried to remember the title of that movie. It really looks like the scene in the construct, doesn't it?" Skye chuckled and shook her head in disbelief, "You've seen the Matrix?" Jemma looked down. "Fitz made me." Upon hearing her say his name both girls' eyes widened. They stared at each other for a moment. Jemma took a deep breath. She missed Fitz every day a bit more but she had had time to get used to the feeling. Skye hadn't. In that moment Jemma did what she wanted to do since Skye had arrived. She reached for the other girl and hugged her tight. Skye relaxed into the embrace. It had a calming effect on her. She was so overwhelmed by the entire situation. The comfort Jemma provided was more than welcome. After a little while Jemma pulled back and squinted at Skye with a penetrating look. "How can you grasp the Matrix relocation trick so quickly? It took me weeks to learn about it. And it always took an effort." Skye shrugged, "I don't know."


	3. Moving On

"I really don't know, but I am ready to find out and also get started on finding our way back. I refuse to believe that you and I are stuck here." Skye got up and began to wander around on the bus, Jemma trailed behind. Skye had several small questions to which, surprisingly, Jemma knew all the answers. After some more questions Skye came back to the wonderment of travel by blinking and now Jemma had a hunch as to why it came easier to Skye. "If this place is similar to the _construct_ program in the movie then, maybe, your experience with processes happening inside computers might give you an advantage." Skye hummed noncommittally. She wasn't satisfied with the answer but couldn't come up with a better one. "So you sleep, right?" She pointed at Jemma's pod as they passed it. "Yes, I do."

"_I don't see why we would need a new member on the team. We managed just fine since..." He didn't say 'since Jemma died', everyone finished Fitz's sentence in their own mind. Agent Hand seemed to be the only one oblivious to the tension in the room. "I don't actually care about your opinion Mr. Fitz."Coulson stepped in before Fitz could say something he might later regret. "How about we get some more time to grieve? Any agent will have it hard coming into a team that is as unsettled as this. Once we find our feet again, I am sure," his eyes seeking out Fitz's "we will be in a position to welcome a new member." He looked back at Agent Hand. Of course he had no intentions to 'replace' Simmons. Ever. If Agent Hand saw through his lie she didn't let on. "I give you a month, I will assign someone then. End of discussion. She abruptly spun around and strode out of Coulson's office without another word. Skye had watched from the door and hurried out of the way. She decided to leave as well. When she passed the pod that used to be Jemma's she made sure no one was around and went inside. Ever since the funeral she occasionally had been coming to the pod to sit on Jemma's bed and think._


	4. Mourning

Not wanting to linger near the bunks Skye blindly walked on. When she realized where she was headed Skye slowed down and came to a stop on top of the stairs. Facing away from the lab and refusing to meet Jemma's eyes she ran her thumbnail over the smooth surface of the handrail. Jemma bit her lower lip. She knew what was bothering Skye, but she didn't know if Skye felt like she could talk about it. Making use of the silence between them Jemma studied Skye. She was wearing the tan shirt and pants as well as the boots Jemma had seen on Skye when her limp body had been brought onto the bus. The black jacket and jeans vest were missing. Jemma liked the flowers on the shirt. Last time she saw them they had been obscured by red, dark stains. Jemma's eyes took in Skye's posture and observed the storm of expressions crossing Skye's face. She wanted to reach out and comfort Skye. Before she got the chance Skye looked up. She wiped the moisture from her eyes, turned around and finally descended the stairs. The silence that had fallen between them remained. Their path eventually led them to the lab. Skye dreaded seeing Fitz. She wondered what state he would be in.

"_It was the polarity. The conductor hadn't been calibrated right and and the device failed. I failed. I failed Jemma." Fitz had been pacing for what to Skye felt like forever. He'd walk out of the lab toward the SUV, spin around and march back to the holo table, just to turn and do it all over again. His arms were in constant motion. He raised them in a helpless gesture, palmed his face, pulled at his hair and pointed an accusatory finger toward the lab. Over and over. Back and forth. Suddenly he went still. His shoulders slumped. Tears instantly gathered in Skye's eyes when his this perfect study in defeat before her met her gaze. Three weeks ago Jemma had jumped off the cargo hatch just a few feet away from where she and her devastated friend were standing. Every day since Fitz's eyes lost more and more light. An emptiness had taken residence in his eyes. His face spoke of sadness and frustration. Almost every day he went over what he could have done differently to save the one person on this planet who understood him on every level. Skye was there for all his outbreaks. She screamed with him or listened quietly when he needed her to. She helped him trash the lab. She helped him put it back together. Most of the time she didn't know what to say. She had to follow her instinct. Never before had she been as attached to anyone as she was to these people, this team. Her team, her family. Being with Fitz was a distraction from her own emotions. She didn't know how to mourn. She knew how Fitz mourned and joined him._


	5. Mute

As expected Fitz looked nothing like himself. His sweater vest looked unwashed. His shirt was tucked in on one side only. Jemma stopped at the door. Skye ran right into her. She noticed the change in Jemma's face. Her eyes filled with tears. Skye had experience with this Fitz. "When did you get here? After you died? How much..." Jemma interrupted, "I am not sure. I remember being sick and wanting to save Fitz, save all of you. Then I was in the common room. No one could see me. I don't know how much time had passed between dying and returning to the bus." Jemma stared into the distance. "For a long time I avoided the lab. I didn't want to see Fitz. Once I found the courage to come here he had his back to me. For a moment I forgot I was dead and asked him what he was doing."

"_Fitzi, what are you looking at? Oh, what a complex system." Jemma stepped closer to the holo table. When Fitz didn't reply she turned to address him again. And remembered then. He couldn't hear her. He couldn't see her. Nobody on the bus did. Why did she have to forget sometimes? She was getting used to wandering around the bus. She was used to watching her team go about their everyday life. Up until now her wandering had never led her to the lab. Her subconscious must have kept her from going here. And the moment that she found herself surrounded by her old equipment she fell back into the routine of being a science partner to Fitz. Determined to not get overwhelmed she swallowed her sadness. If she couldn't interact with him she could at least keep him company. The hologram had also peaked her interest. "This looks like a part of a superconducting particle accelerator. Why are you looking at it?" She kept thinking out loud out. A habit she couldn't quite shake. Since nobody could hear her she didn't try too hard. Her voice and music were the only sounds left so she might as well be loud._

Skye reached for her hand and tugged at it. She wanted Jemma to face her. "I am sorry Jemma. I am sorry you have been alone all this time. Just wait and see. We will find a way off the bus and back to the team." Jemma shook her head. "Whatever you say, Skye." They left Fitz. There was nothing they could do and observing his muttering, frowning and the occasional worrying of his lips didn't do them any good. Skye headed to the van, yet again Jemma trailed behind. Silence had fallen between them. She had to process Skye's arrival and its meaning just as much as Skye had to. Skye opened the back door and made herself comfortable on the back seat claiming all of it as her own. Which left Jemma with the passenger seat. Skye was lying on her side staring past Jemma out the windshield. Jemma relaxed into the seat and leaned against the headrest. Minutes passed of only their breathing filling the silence.

Skye startled Jemma when suddenly she asked, "Besides all this being totally strange and feeling all kinds of weird, I just noticed something that I should have earlier. Why is everything so muted? The colors seem washed out." Jemma pursed her lips. She sighed. Her voice sounded defeated "I don't know, Skye, I really don't know."


End file.
